Techniques and methods have been installed to investigate tumor sterol metabolism including: radioisotope determination of hepatic cholesterol synthesis in human subjects as an indicator of malignant transformation of the liver; specimens from a spectrum of thyroid disease have been collected for examination of membrane isoprenoid content to delineate effects on sterol synthetic pathways of various thyroid disease; and in vitro studies with a rat hepatoma line to demonstrate a differential inhibiting effect of oxidized sterols on hepatoma growth as opposed to normal liver growth. Techniques for liposome targeting of sterol suppressors to take advantage of this latter effect in vivo are being developed simultaneously with techniques for liposome delivery of other agents in a rat model investigating hepatic dearterialization and protein degradation in liver with and without metastatic rat colon carcinoma.